


make it shine

by erintoknow



Series: Aria-Rough Drafts [19]
Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (Video Game)
Genre: Depression, Gen, POV Female Character, POV Second Person, Trans Character, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22068919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erintoknow/pseuds/erintoknow
Summary: Dr. Mortum came through, the suit is done. Better make sure it's up to spec.
Series: Aria-Rough Drafts [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1604665
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	make it shine

**Author's Note:**

> [[The World Is Mine]](https://youtu.be/ronlL7ix_Mk)

Finally.

Two years of research, preparation, and hard work have been building towards this.

The glove slides up your arm, comfortably snug against your skin as you buckle it into place. Basic, light-weight ablative armor plating covers a more delicate framework of wires incased in a layer of ballistic gel padding. The left gauntlet is slightly bulkier then the right, a raised nodule over the back of palm the only indication of the payload now living inside.

You flex your fingers. Stretch out and then curled into a fist. The armor is slightly more stiff then just a skinsuit. But the added protection should be worth it, and you made sure Dr. Mortum kept things as streamlined as possible. You might be several years out of shape but speed is still your main asset.

To that end, you bend your leg at the knee, balancing on first on foot then hopping to the other. The shape of the boots is a little odd, but it’s all part of the jump jet package. Jump a little higher, fall a little slower… maybe once you get the hang of it you can add some extra oomph to a kick.

You can’t help it. The laughter. No one in this goddamn city has any idea what’s coming for it. With you to act as the muscle for Jane’s Face, maybe some goddamn changes can finally come to this damn place. They have to. After everything you’ve done already you can’t stop now. What you did you to Lady Argent, to all those other people… It won’t have been for nothing. It can’t be.

And… goddamn it feels good to feel _powerful_ for once.

Chittering voices press against the back of your head as you pick up the helmet, turned the mirrored faceplate around and slip it over your head. The Rat-King waking up to your touch as you fasten the helmet in place, hook up the systems and bring the Heads-Up Display online. With the Rat-King to help manage basic situational awareness and other low-level maintenance tasks, you can be free to focus the bulk of your talents elsewhere.

Such as…

You hold up your left gauntlet, brushing your mind over the contents, stirring them awake. The Nanovores you had Argent steal from the vault have been safely housed inside a modified void-cage, ringing the length of the gauntlet.

Mortum claims to have successfully modified the program so that they one: wouldn’t replicate beyond their pre-set size, and two: would no longer target organic matter. You may be playing with fire, but… one forest fire was more than enough. The screaming…

You flinch, shaking your head. Clap your hand into your fist. That’s the past. It’s over and gone and it can’t hurt you anymore. Nothing can.

You should – you should make certain. Turn your attention to the limp form propped up against the garage door. A paper bag has been carefully fitted over the unconscious man’s head. No chances. Once you have a real revenue stream, you won’t have to resort to manipulating lone drunkards like this. But what’s another night lost among hundreds?

He’s an old man, a hanger-on from the days the city was still called ‘LA.’ No living friends or relatives. If the Nanovores fuck up, no one will miss him anyway.

Can feel their hum over your arm, a buzzing hive of wasps coming to life. You can do this. What are eggs for if not for breaking? Bite down hard enough on the inside of your cheek that it makes your eyes water. You turn away. Find a wooden chair a few feet to your right. There. That’ll do. Wood is organic.

The Nanovores should be able to go a decent distance on their own if need be. Might as well test that now. You outstretch your hand, coax them to life. Feel the Rat-King’s presence curl protectively around you. That’s as strange a feeling as the sharp angles and buzzing of the nanovores themselves. Can barely see them in the air, but they’re there. Good to know. Stick to using it strictly on touch then. Obfuscate the nature of the power. The metal fastenings in the chair dissolve and the wooden legs collapse in a pile on the floor.

They work. They work as advertised. Goddamn. The Nanovores return to their cage, quieting down. Obedient. Tamed. You laugh again, more than a little manic. Reach up and press back on the back of your helmet, feel out the connection at the base of the neck to the super-cool system. Mortum claims it’ll help the telepathic link between you and the Rat-King, that was the original sales pitch anyway, but you’ve had this modified slightly from the original specs to keep the whole suit cool. You’ll need it.

Stepping in front of the mirror finally and it’s… a trip. The mirrored helmet stares back, reflecting the mirror and the room. The reflective polish fades into a deep unnatural black. Had to get the paint for this imported. Technically not even a pigment. A special carbon nanotube mixture from a paint eccentric out in the UK countryside. Absorbs over 99.8% of light. Bonus: the carbon will protect the suit from the nanovores. The effect is… disturbing to look at. It’s almost impossible to make out the contour of the armor plating against the underlaying skinsuit and systems. You lift up your hand and twist it this way and that. In the mirror it looks like your hand is changing shape, no indication of your wrist turning.

Like a black void in a roughly human shape opened up in reality. No form or definition, no shadow or highlight, just uniform black.

The light absorption means the suit will run hot in the sun. The modified cooling system will help with that, but for best results you’ll want to stick to indoors and evening or later for operations. Fine with you. Don’t care for the light anyway. The effect itself is going to be high maintenance to keep up, but the paint ended up being surprisingly affordable and you’ll want to do a check up after missions anyway. Once you’ve finished setting up your long-term base of operations it should be fine.

You curl your hand into a fist and watch the reflection shapeshift to follow suit. Two weeks to show time. Two weeks to sever the last dregs of Ariadne’s life. Have had to make some last-minute changes to the plan – nobody _needs_ to die, as long as you make it clear to the world that they’ve got a new thing to fear in the night, that’s all that matters.

No more running scared. No more sleepless nights fearing nightmares. No more desperate old friends trying to drag you back into a dead life. No more cowering, waiting for something to happen to you. You’re taking control of your life.

Finally.

And no one else is ever going to forget it.

You rear your fist back, and bring it down on the mirror.

**Author's Note:**

> The paint is a fictional version of [[this]](https://www.culturehustleusa.com/products/black-3-0-the-worlds-blackest-black-acrylic-paint-150ml?variant=22516994342970&currency=USD&utm_campaign=gs-2018-10-29&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=CjwKCAiAo7HwBRBKEiwAvC_Q8bqaRIvX8ZB3rMckVHiaYb0ZYoy16okmJhoTxZfWcxyQcLtpryzpdBoCxZYQAvD_BwE)


End file.
